Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Alec Gross was in the studio this week laying out some new tunes that we'll start recording soon. Tom Welsch, bass, joined in to help out. Tom's just about to hit the road with Scandal. He also plays with Casey Shea, another Major Who favorite. Go to Alec's myspace right now and listen to his "Carvers Spring Massacre". You'll be happy you did.

Alec also turned us onto the whole Leeroy Jenkins phenomenon. More interesting than the original World of Warcraft clip is the incredible mass video response to this clip, turning it into instant folklore. Alec himself has written a very funny and engaging song about Leeroy. This is the internet at its best.

Monday, December 3, 2007

Bob Lefsetz thinks Starbucks is jumping the shark by instigating a national TV ad campaign. It's a bit 'unstarbucksy' I agree but I think they'll pull through OK.

Lefsetz also provides us with a quote from Howard Schultz, Chairman and Chief Global Strategist from Starbucks, in his 1997 book, "Pour Your Heart Out":

"In this ever-changing society, the most powerful and enduring brands are built from the heart. Their foundations are stronger because they are built with the strength of the human spirit, not an ad campaign."

Paula Valstein writes some incredible songs- and this one was a dream to work out with her in the studio. You ROCK Paula!! We can't wait until next week when we get to tracking again..

Hey- Nothing like a little major radio station nod to keep the indie vibe feelin' good!! Wow- that's the second time this monthJonathan Clarke has shown some love to a MajorWho artist on his show. Last week or two ago it was ATOMICTOM "You Always Get What You Want".hmmmm- Maybe we're all on to something!!!

Jonathan is a devoted champion of the local unsigned artist- His show is always great. We've been listening to it for years. Check it out at 9pm on Sunday nights on Q104.3 on your FM dial or Q1043.com. Paula is a songwriting goddess... Seems like a great match to me!

Friday, November 16, 2007

It was an exciting time in NYC last Wednesday night when, after the atomictom show at Arlenes Grocery, everyone ran over and watched Todd Alsup hit the stage at the Bitter End. Todd electrified the crowd with a stripped down acoustic set of new material. There was no shortage of support from the audience including Shayna Zaid and Caitlin Lowery.

Shayna Zaid, James Walsh, Todd Alsup and Caitlin Lowery

Eric Lewis ROCKS!!

....then, after a quick bite at YAMA sushi- which has seen better days:(, we all went around the block to see virtuoso pianist Eric Lewis and his trio amaze the crowds with his own unique brand of Rock and Jazz. Rock on Eric..

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

At ATOMICTOM's third residency at Arlene's last week we had three Major Who artists standing together. Couldn't resist taking a picture. They're performing their fourth and final residency tonight (14th) at Arlene's so please come on down and show your support. It's a good thing it's the last show for a while because we suspect Luke may be running out of colors for the banner. :) Rumor has it he's going to blow something up for real at the show- so we'll see you there!

Jonathan Clarke's Q104.3 Out of The Box shows some love to ATOMICTOM on Sunday night!! Jonathan's been inadvertently championing many of our artists over the years and for that we thank him. Great show Jonathan! He loves supporting local artists..

This guy. I don't know how he does it. There's something about him. Anyway, go to his myspace and check out the song 'Yours'. We produced it at Major Who not too long ago and it's a good one. Let us know if you like it.

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

An exciting week in store for the boys in Atomictom culminating with two very special shows in one night.

Wed Nov 7th: - New York Songwriter showcase at the Bitter Endat 8pm SHARP!!The band is a finalist in the songwriters showcase competition and will be hitting the stage to perform 'You Always Get What You Want' for a panel of judges looking for the grand prize!!

Then, immediately following the showcase we will all be hopping down to ARLENES GROCERY for the third night of their residency. Same night- same band- new songs and good times..

Also, we encourage you to sign up for our Major Who newsletter so we can spam.. er.. send you updates...

Here's something we found written on the wall of Jeff Buckley's rehearsal room before we built out the control room, just after Jeff passed..

MUSIC AIN'T NO PRODUCT

Speaking of Buckley, The Fenwicks were at MajorWho over the weekend to lay down some new tracks for a debt relief (get details from jack) program. According to Jack Bookbinder, The Fenwicks were one of Jeff's favorite bands. Check em out- great guys and musicians...

We encourage you to check in with our blog and keep up to date with all that is going on in our artist community. Please feel free to send us updates on projects you are working on so we can include them in our calendar.

MajorWho is an artist development, production, management and promotions company founded by NYC music producers Sheldon Steiger and James Walsh.

Friday, October 26, 2007

We love Billy Harvey. He first came to our attention from a close friend, Barry Bergman. Barry called me up one day and told me I had to check this guy out. When Barry recommends someone, it's always worth a look. Billy is funny, charming and an amazing songwriter. He produces a lot of different artists as well. We caught Billy's show at CMJ last week where I took this picture. Billy makes a nice living as an independent artist. We appreciate that more than we can express. It's what it's all about. Check out Billy's website (it's possibly the best website ever).

Saturday, October 20, 2007

We've finally started doing some work with Eric Lewis. We've been eagerly awaiting the moment to get into the studio with him and get creative. Eric has this idea to take some popular songs from bands like Coldplay and The Killers, and create his own fully arranged interpretations that are faithful to the spirit of the originals but infuse Eric's own genius style. We'll have some stuff for you to listen to soon.

If you haven't seen Eric perform live yet, you should. It's worth it. If only for the great facial expressions he pulls while he plays.

Susie Ibarra's "Pintado's Dream""Told in two musical movements accentuated by the sublime visual imagery of Makoto Fujimura's projections, Pintados Dream emerges from Ibarra's ongoing documentary fieldwork with the indigenous people of Japan and the Philippine Islands -- "warriors, spiritualists, humanists and artists [who] continue to live as some of the oldest residents on this earth." As the instruments of the orchestra channel these indigenous voices, Fujimura's projections interact with the performance, sometimes directly, sometimes obliquely, but always in gestures that speak ancient languages in modern tongues."

And speaking of Susie, she will be coming into Major Who's studio in a few weeks to record a piece she's written for Jennifer Choi. Jennifer has been working with us on her new CD which should be out sometime this winter. Along with Susie's piece, the CD features music by some other great contemporary composers such as Randy Woolf, Annie Gosfield, and Raz Mesinai.

Friday, October 12, 2007

We set Shayna up with our friend Nicole to take some pictures. They came up with some beautiful ones.Nicole is out of her mind. Everyone knows it, especially Nicole. It's part of her charm. She's an AMAZING photographer and a great artist. We love you Nicole. :)

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

We headed down to Gizzi's on W. 8th St. last night to check out Alec Gross' show. Alec has a real flare for country and folk rock with shimmering high vocals and a very genuine presence on stage. Gizzi's is a coffee shop that presents live music every Wednesday and Saturday nights. I think we'll be seeing a lot more of this as time goes on. Live music in alternative settings. Very refreshing. It started with the Barnes & Noble and Borders craze and now we're seeing it everywhere. I'm surprised Starbucks hasn't done this (or have they?), what with their own 'Hear Music' label and all. Many people want to hear live music but don't like the scene in the traditional venues. Part of the reason we like Rockwood so much is because it's a different atmosphere. More intimate. More friendly. Great for this kind of music.

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Hello Major Who fans, it's been a while. Some CRAZY stuff going on lately. First off, we're proud to announce that we'll be managing Shayna Zaid. HOOORAY! We're super excited about the opportunities that are unfolding for Shayna as we work to develop her songs and her presence here and in Asia. Thanks Jay Deasel for your undying and dedicated support to the project. And speaking of Shayna, last week she was in the studio finishing up some vocals when she got a call from her friend Daniel Bedingfield. He was in the neighborhood and wondered whether he could stop in on the session. Um, Sure! Along comes Daniel and while he's here he lays down some most delicious backgrounds on Shayna's song 'It's You'. Wow, thank you Daniel. Truly awesome.

Another one of our artists, Paula Valstein, played a show recently with Dr. John in Philly. Dr. John took a fancy to Paula (hmm, what a surprise :). So he invites her to accompany him to a celebration concert of Charlie Parker's music with a staggering A-List lineup last night. She got to hang with Dr. John, Elvis Costello, Diana Krall and Al Schmitt after the concert. Ridiculous. She came to the studio afterwards all aglow. Nice going Paula. Listen for Paula Valstein's new single 'Bring It On', out soon on Major Who - just in time for her CMJ shows. It sounds amazing and we're not even finished with it yet. Paula will be playing an official CMJ show at The Cutting Room on October 17th at 10PM.

And how about that Atomictom?! Featured on the front page of Amie Street last week, Luke and the gang are gearing up for a CMJ showcase at Rockwood on October 20th at 11PM and a weekly residency at Arlene's Grocery starting October 24th. Please come out and check out the shows.

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Wow! What a month it's been. Who says everything shuts down in August!?

Firstly, there has been tremendous buzz and excitement generated from the Atomictom track on AMC. Thousands have checked in to hear the music and join the fanclub. Thanks to everyone who came out to the show at Arlene's on July 25th it was a great event. We managed to fill the place on a Wednesday in mid July. Great work!! Atomictom will release a new single soon, so look out.

Yesterday we played host to the Blue Room again - this time with Antigone Rising. "M" once again graced us with his presence, this time to record and interview the girls from Antigone Rising as they were in town in the midst of a heavy touring schedule. And by the way, we now know that M did NOT take our gaffers tape. Nor would he ever have done so. We recorded four totally awesome songs. The session was a total blast, so thanks girls! Look for it at on the AT&T Blue Room site.

Shayna Zaid has four new songs close to completion and we can't wait for you to hear them. Her return from Malaysia has seen us in the studio recording new vocals on tracks which will blow you away.

Randy Woolf has a new film score project that Major Who is producing. It's a documentary about Tibet directed by Mary Harron and John Walsh. John and Mary went to Tibet to capture live video and sound which is now being woven into the score. It's an incredible piece!